Closing Arguments Wrap Up Home Invasion Trial

Defense Does Not Call Any Witnesses

As multimillionaire Anne Bass' butler, Emanuel Nicolescu knew many things about the wealthy philanthropist's habits, her schedule and her Connecticut estate, which helped him plan and participate in a plot to extort $8.5 million from her during a 2007 home invasion, prosecutors said Wednesday.

That knowledge, along with a list of other circumstantial evidence prosecutors said links Nicolescu to the crime, are reasons to convict and send Nicolescu to prison for 50 years, Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Novick said Wednesday during closing arguments in U.S. District Court.

"There are no coincidences here," Novick said. "Each of these pieces of evidence work together to corroborate one another to lead you to the undeniable conclusion that this defendant is guilty of all of the crimes charged here."

But if Nicolescu was one of the three masked men in black to invade Bass' South Kent estate, why then did the intruders, according to testimony, not know the basic layout of the house, defense attorney Audrey A. Felson asked jurors. They asked Bass and her companion, "Where are the safes? Where is the bedroom? Where's the bathroom? What's the dog's name?" during the crime, Felsen noted.

"He didn't plan this crime. He didn't help commit this crime," Felsen said.

Referencing charts, lists and maps of evidence the government made in its case presentation, Felsen told jurors, "Just because things are put together, doesn't mean they go together. Manny Nicolescu is asking you to look at the evidence without being told what it says."

Felsen pointed the finger at Nicolescu's friend, Nicolae Helerea, also known as Michael Kennedy. Kennedy has been indicted by the federal government in connection with the home invasion, but his whereabouts are unknown.

Felsen said one of Aesop's Fables, "The Scorpion and the Frog" is how she would describe the men's friendship.

"Maybe he'd do almost anything for a friend," Felsen said about Nicolescu. "But not this."

Jurors will begin deliberating Nicolescu's fate Thursday morning. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys rested Wednesday morning. Defense attorneys did not call any witnesses to the stand. When U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz asked Nicolescu, 31, whether he would testify, Nicolescu said he would "remain silent."

Nicolescu faces charges of attempting to interfere with commerce by extortion, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Bass, 70, testified Tuesday that she believed she was going to die during the home invasion at her 1,000-acre estate. She said three armed men dressed in black broke into her home, screaming war cries and demanding money.

Bass and her longtime companion, New York artist Julian Lethbridge, were blindfolded and bound for hours while Bass' 3-year-old grandson slept in a bedroom. The child was unharmed.

At one point in the home invasion, the couple was injected with what the intruders called a deadly "virus" but was actually fungus medication. Bass testified that the men said that unless she turned over $8.5 million, she and Lethbridge would die within 20 hours.

The men said they would give them an antidote if she handed over the money.

The men eventually left without the millions. But before they fled, they forced Bass and Lethbridge to drink a liquid laced with sleeping pills.

Nicolescu was fired in 2006 after only a few months on the job as a butler because he had taken Bass' vehicle without permission and it was involved in a crash.

Nicolescu was a former chauffeur and personal assistant for such rich and famous New Yorkers as beverage mogul J. Darius Bikoff, Jujamcyn Theaters President Jordan Roth and real estate tycoon Richard Cohen.

During the trial, a DNA expert testified that samples taken from the steering wheel and windshield wiper lever of a Jeep stolen from Bass' home during the home invasion contained portions of Nicolescu's DNA profile. Testimony showed that the Jeep was purchased after Nicolescu was fired.

Nicolescu's ex-wife also testified that a knife found in a discarded accordion case belonged to her former husband. The knife, a fake gun, zip-ties, syringes and a laminated card with phone numbers of Bass' homes and employees were found inside the accordion case, which a Queens, N.Y., woman found in a muddy canal near her home.

Nicolescu's former father-in-law testified that he had made the knife and given it to Nicolescu as a gift.